Thank you to this entire great community and all the help it has given me over the past year. Everything from picking a language, to feeling out the fundamentals of programming, to answering my dumb questions about object oriented design, why my code isn't running, etc. Everyone has been super helpful and understanding of myself and many other newbies who want to learn the art of programming.

A year ago, I knew the basics of HTML and nothing else. I was pretty decent with computers, but never pursued it further than learning how to do basic OS tweaks and playing video games. I was a Finance major, and I hated what I was doing. I really dreaded getting a full time job in Finance, and didn't get along with other people in my major. I just wasn't into it, but I didn't know where else to turn. It wasn't until I found r/learnprogramming that I realized working with computers could be a viable career, and programming was actually something I could someday be decent at.

Now, I'm finally getting decent with Java, I've dabbled in C (with the CS50 class), and I've explored some other languages. I've made a few simple websites, and I'm in the process of developing an app for Android. I changed my major officially to Computer Science BS last semester, and I have an internship next summer as a Software Engineer at a Fortune 500 company.

And finally, with exception of class projects and small practice exercises I've done, I'm happy to say that I've shipped my first piece of software. It's a Chrome extension called Simple Blocker:

As the name suggests, it is a simple website blocker that lets you block any number of sites to help you concentrate. It has a sleep timer, as well as additional "enhanced blocking" features which make it difficult to turn on, if you have trouble with self control. The app is free, but in the future I may provide a Bitcoin address or something for donations ;) But I really just wanted to create it to learn JavaScript and mess around with the Chrome API rather than make money.

I don't want to rant on for too long, I really just wanted to say THANK YOU! And also wanted to get some quality feedback on my new app!

TL;DR: Was a miserable Finance major a year ago, the closest I came to coding back then was using Excel. Now, I'm a CS major and have an internship lined up next summer. Thank you guys for your help :)

As a fellow ex-finance major and now programmer i can absolutely relate. It changed my life to the better in so many ways. I also finished my first piece of software, a Windows Phone app, two weeks ago.

Congrats! Yeah I've run into quite a few ex-business majors in my field. It's a lot more laid back in IT/development, I like it. Care to do some shameless self promotion of your own and share what your app is?

It's a simple tea timer app where you choose a sort of tea and the app gives you a countdown with the needed time and an alarm upon finish.

The app itself was fairly simple but implementing 4 languages which change based on what language the phone uses gave me headaches for a while :) If some one wants to get into the .NET Stuff I can only recommend Microsofts Channel 9.

Haha well I would really appreciate it! It would be cool if a ton of people started using it, and I was able to add new features to it on a regular basis, but we'll see.

CS50 was a great eye opener. I felt like a real hardass when I started writing loops and if statements for the first time. If you ever wanted to switch careers into a development job, there's pretty much never been a better time, especially if you're good at one of the "hot" new languages

Well, make sure you've got the basics of Java down first, that's half of it. As for the Android part, I found the Google Developer's guide to be very helpful. They have tutorials, walkthroughs, and detailed explanations of most parts of the Android OS and how apps work. Besides that, Youtube walkthroughs can be very helpful, as well as online tutorials. Oh and Stack Overflow's Android section is really helpful

It was a little less than 3 years into the major... It took me a while to come to the realization, but honestly I'm a little hard headed. My dad majored in business, and I was going to one of the top 20 business schools in the country, so it took a while for the doubt to build up.

I'd always been pretty good with computers and math, but for some reason never really considered anything involving computers to be a career. I have no idea why, I think I was honestly pretty immature when I picked my major (I was only 17, ok?), and my parents grew up in the days before computers, so they were of no help.

I eventually realized that I hated what I was doing, hated the types of people who were going into my field (smug, greedy, douchey investment banking types, etc), and wasn't finding shit in terms of jobs. By the time I'd gone through about 25 interviews with not even an internship offer, and watched a TEDx talk about cookie-cutter worthless college degrees, I had my epiphany.

That's awesome! Quick recommendation for the website is make the gray element the text is nested in on the website larger, the footer with your email looks out of whack. But it's cool to see you come this far! I just picked up python proficiently and this forum has done a lot for me. I did c++ when I was 12 or so, but it got away from me. I hope I can have the same success you have!

Sure. Besides this subreddit, there are a few things I would recommend. The very first "real" programming I did was for CS50. It is a Harvard introductory programming class, which offers all lectures and materials online for free. I just subscribed to it on iTunes U, but the class can be found online here: https://www.cs50.net/

Another site that a lot of people seem to love is CodeAcademy. I didn't get too much out of it, but I know they've added A TON to it over the last few months, so you may want to check it out: http://www.codecademy.com/

Never underestimate the power of YouTube tutorials, online walkthroughs, and generally useful free stuff that people put online. I've learned a ton from simply watching YouTube tutorials and Googling stuff/reading Wikipedia. I've also learned a lot from reading posts on this subreddit, but you already knew how useful it was, right?

And finally, my recommendation is to try and build something with what you've learned. IMO, trying to work on a coding project from start to end is much more helpful than reading a book front to cover, or watching lectures all day long. Also, try to find like minded people to talk with. Like programming? Subscribe to r/programming. Like computer security? r/netsec.